How 2 University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Who's accountable for the results?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/
StudentNation
/ February 13, 2026
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
With ICE Map, Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel hope to help communities understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Arman Amin
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Left: Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel. Right: A screenshot of ICE Map.
(Jack Vu and Abby Manuel)
This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to [email protected].
Since President Trump’s second inauguration last year, federal immigration enforcement by ICE agents has expanded dramatically. Agents have been deployed in major cities with sweeping crackdowns. Controversial and violent methods of targeting and detainment have been deployed that have drawn broad scrutiny and widespread protests, particularly since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Amid this escalating tension, two Rice University freshmen, Jack Vu and Abby Manuel, developed an online platform, called ICE Map, which tracks local reporting about ICE enforcement actions and consolidates verified incidents. The project aims to help users better understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Vu and Manuel’s map has drawn greater attention in recent months, including amplification by prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg, who shared the project on Instagram. The students have also presented their work at the 2025 New(s) Knowledge Symposium at MIT.
We spoke with Vu and Manuel about how they developed this project, what kind of reception they have received, and where they see it going from here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Arman Amin: What inspired you to develop this project?
Jack Vu: We’re both from Houston. I had this volunteer project with immigrants at an apartment complex in East Houston. We would go out there every week and we would play games and read books, do hopscotch, and we would teach them American football. In April of 2025, they stopped showing up one Saturday, and we were like, “what is going on?”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
Someone with the program goes …
Who's accountable for the results?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/
StudentNation
/ February 13, 2026
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
With ICE Map, Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel hope to help communities understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Arman Amin
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Left: Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel. Right: A screenshot of ICE Map.
(Jack Vu and Abby Manuel)
This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to [email protected].
Since President Trump’s second inauguration last year, federal immigration enforcement by ICE agents has expanded dramatically. Agents have been deployed in major cities with sweeping crackdowns. Controversial and violent methods of targeting and detainment have been deployed that have drawn broad scrutiny and widespread protests, particularly since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Amid this escalating tension, two Rice University freshmen, Jack Vu and Abby Manuel, developed an online platform, called ICE Map, which tracks local reporting about ICE enforcement actions and consolidates verified incidents. The project aims to help users better understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Vu and Manuel’s map has drawn greater attention in recent months, including amplification by prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg, who shared the project on Instagram. The students have also presented their work at the 2025 New(s) Knowledge Symposium at MIT.
We spoke with Vu and Manuel about how they developed this project, what kind of reception they have received, and where they see it going from here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Arman Amin: What inspired you to develop this project?
Jack Vu: We’re both from Houston. I had this volunteer project with immigrants at an apartment complex in East Houston. We would go out there every week and we would play games and read books, do hopscotch, and we would teach them American football. In April of 2025, they stopped showing up one Saturday, and we were like, “what is going on?”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
Someone with the program goes …
How 2 University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Who's accountable for the results?
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Activism
/
StudentNation
/ February 13, 2026
How Two University Freshman Are Tracking ICE Enforcement Actions Across the Country
With ICE Map, Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel hope to help communities understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Arman Amin
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Left: Rice University students Jack Vu and Abby Manuel. Right: A screenshot of ICE Map.
(Jack Vu and Abby Manuel)
This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to [email protected].
Since President Trump’s second inauguration last year, federal immigration enforcement by ICE agents has expanded dramatically. Agents have been deployed in major cities with sweeping crackdowns. Controversial and violent methods of targeting and detainment have been deployed that have drawn broad scrutiny and widespread protests, particularly since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Amid this escalating tension, two Rice University freshmen, Jack Vu and Abby Manuel, developed an online platform, called ICE Map, which tracks local reporting about ICE enforcement actions and consolidates verified incidents. The project aims to help users better understand where immigration enforcement activity is happening and how it unfolds in real time.
Vu and Manuel’s map has drawn greater attention in recent months, including amplification by prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg, who shared the project on Instagram. The students have also presented their work at the 2025 New(s) Knowledge Symposium at MIT.
We spoke with Vu and Manuel about how they developed this project, what kind of reception they have received, and where they see it going from here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Arman Amin: What inspired you to develop this project?
Jack Vu: We’re both from Houston. I had this volunteer project with immigrants at an apartment complex in East Houston. We would go out there every week and we would play games and read books, do hopscotch, and we would teach them American football. In April of 2025, they stopped showing up one Saturday, and we were like, “what is going on?”
Current Issue
March 2026 Issue
Someone with the program goes …
0 Comments
0 Shares
42 Views
0 Reviews
